East Carolina basketball player Shamarr Bowden was suspended for one game following his ejection for throwing a punch at UTEP’s Konner Tucker in last Saturday’s loss to the Miners.

Bowden

Bowden’s punch, which was clearly visible on television replays, happened after he and Tucker got tied up on the floor under the basket as the Pirates’ Marshall Guilmette dunked in a rebound with 12:30 remaining.

ECU lost the game 68-67.

A 6-foot-4 senior from Greensboro, Bowden averages 5.8 points per game. He is second on the team with 27 3-pointers. His punishment will force him to sit out Wednesday’s home game against Conference USA co-leader Memphis.

“I’m very disappointed in Shamarr’s actions Saturday night,” Pirates coach Jeff Lebo said. “There is no place for that in our sport and we don’t tolerate it in our program.

“His behavior was very uncharacteristic, but unfortunately he let his emotions get the best of him. Shamarr is very remorseful about his conduct and understands the consequences. I know he’ll use this as a constructive learning experience to become a better player and better man.”

A contrite Bowden reached out to Tucker via Twitter to express his regret for the incident after being unable to find the UTEP guard after the game. He also issued an official apology in a release announcing his suspension.

The one-game ban is consistent with the NBA rule that calls for a minimum one-game suspension for any player that throws a punch – whether it connects or not.

Tucker

“I apologize to Konner for my actions Saturday night,” Bowden said in the statement “I also apologize to the Miners, my coaches, my teammates, fellow students and the fans. I’m deeply sorry for losing my composure and not controlling my emotions. In the future I will continue to compete hard and display better sportsmanship toward everyone.”

By the way, if the name Konner Tucker sounds familiar, it should. The 6-4 graduate student played six games for Wake Forest, scoring 13 points in 2009-10, before transferring.